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(Alliance News) - AstraZeneca PLC on Friday reported that it completed the acquisition of CinCor Pharma Inc, which focuses on hypertension and chronic kidney disease, while its cancer drug Enhertu won another approval, its first in China.
The Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company said it completed the acquisition of Cincor Pharma for about USD1.3 billion.
"The acquisition bolsters AstraZeneca's cardiorenal pipeline by adding baxdrostat, an aldosterone synthase inhibitor for blood pressure lowering in treatment-resistant hypertension, to its cardiorenal portfolio," AstraZeneca said.
The value of the transaction could rise to USD1.8 billion if potential contingent value payments are made.
AstraZeneca highlighted that the acquisition gives it the opportunity to potentially combine CinCor's baxdrostat with AstraZeneca's farxiga, which treats chronic kidney disease and heart failure. This could complement its strategy to provide added benefit across cardiorenal diseases, citing "a high unmet medical need".
CinCor is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Baxdrostat is CinCor's key clinical stage candidate. It is a high blood pressure treatment.
Meanwhile, Enhertu, which AstraZeneca develops with Tokyo-based partner Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd, was approved in China for a form of breast cancer.
The approval is for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer that have been treated with one or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens.
The approval is based on a phase III trial which showed a 72% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death compared to trastuzumab emtansine, in patients with HER2-positive unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab and a taxane. HER-2 is a growth promoting protein.
Trastuzumab is a cancer drug, with trastuzumab emtansine specifically targeting breast cancer, while taxane is a drug aiming to block cell growth by stopping cell division.
AstraZeneca shares were 0.3% lower at 11,172.00 pence each in London on Friday afternoon, while Daiichi Sankyo's shares closed down 2.1% at JPY4,323.00 each in Tokyo, before the announcements were publicised.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter
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